THE TRANSLATION OF INDONESIA MYTH CHARACTERS ON THE ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA Marisa Puteri Sekar Ayu Santosa Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia [email protected] ABSTRACT The English language Wikipedia is in both terms of the number of articles and amount of content, the largest encyclopedia ever written. Since it has an enormous amount of information and ease of access through the internet, Wikipedia is often used as the first destination for the general public when they wish to find specific information or learn about particular topic. One of the biggest issues in Wikipedia is making information available in almost all languages. English Wikipedia is often using another language as the source language for translation activities aimed to enhance the quality of the multilingual Wikipedia, one of the examples is Indonesian. In this research, the researcher was interested in observing Indonesian myth characters on the English Wikipedia by investigating the kind of translation techniques that English-Wikipedia used and the way of Wikipedia translated the cultural terms. This research used comparative descriptive method which compares the source text (Indonesia Wikipedia) and the target text (English Wikipedia). The Indonesian myths characters that the researcher wanted to analyze were: Sundel Bolong, Pocong, Jenglot, Wewe Gombel, Kuntilanak, Tuyul, Nyai Roro Kidul, and Babi Ngepet by using translation techniques from Molina and Albir (2002. The result of the study, it could be shown that there were 9 types of translation techniques which are used, they were: amplification (addition), borrowing, compensation, discursive creation, established equivalence, literal translation, modulation, reduction (omission), and transposition. Moreover, the translated text was more informative than the source text, since it was impossible to literally translating the cultural terms. Keyword: Cultural Terms, Myth Characters, Translation, Wikipedia. 1. Introduction The English language Wikipedia is in encyclopedia ever written. Since it has an both terms of the number of articles and enormous amount of information and amount of content, the largest ease of access through the internet, 27 | P a g e Wikipedia is often used as the first institutions and taboos were established destination for the general public when and sanctified. From the explanation they wish to find specific information or above, the term myth is widely used to learn about particular topic. One of the imply that a story is not objectively true. biggest issues in Wikipedia is making Based on Von Franz (2017), the information available in all languages. identification of a narrative as a myth can The English Wikipedia is often used be highly political, influenced by another language as the source language particular religions. for translation activities aimed to The belief of Indonesian to the enhance the quality of the multilingual myths, specifically in the supernatural Wikipedia, one of the example is things or ghosts is quite interesting to be Indonesian. There are found many explored. Since the myth characters are interesting phenomena about the only known in Indonesia, it must be Indonesian culture which is described interesting to find out how the English and translated from Indonesian Wikipedia translate the terms of the Wikipedia into English Wikipedia. characters. Since, the different nations Here, the researcher was interested share the different cultures. According to in observing Indonesian myth characters Newmark (1988), the translation’ on the English Wikipedia. In this problems which relate to the culture globalization era, there is still such a differences are language style, believing in the supernatural things. In background, themes such as character’s Indonesia, it is developing the belief in names, place’s names, words or such supernatural thing like myth particular terms that relate to the culture characters. According to Dictionary of which cannot be found in the target English Folklore, myth is a folklore genre language. That is why, the translator which is consisting of narratives or needs to have a background knowledge stories that play a fundamental role in a about the culture of the source text to society, such as foundational tales or produce a good translation and can be origin myths. The main characters in understood by the target readers. myths are usually gods, demigods or The difficulty in translation process is supernatural humans. According to in finding the equivalence words which Bascom (1965), myths are “often are equal to the source text and the endorsed by rulers and priests or target text. Pym (2014) stated that the priestesses, and are closely linked to goal of translator is to keep the meaning religion or spirituality. However, many of the translation to be constant. societies group their myths, legends and Equivalency usually uses in the history together, considering myths and translation process, especially in the legends to be true accounts of their structural used and the meaning which is remote past. Eliade (1998) explained that totally different from the source myths tell how a society’s customs, language, but the context remains the 28 | P a g e same. Thus, the translator does not just substitution, transposition and variation. transfer each words in source language The translators can use some variations into target language, but a good of translation technique in any product translator must skillful in translating the of translation such as in translating source language into target language cultural terms, especially translating without changing the purpose and Indonesian ghost characters in English message in target language. Therefore, Wikipedia. the translator can transmit the source There are several researches which language to the target language text by conduct in Wikipedia translation and using some translation technique in cultural translation. First research was making the readers can understand conducted by Woodrich (2014), he about the translation in the target analyzed the representations of language. Translation techniques can be Indonesia on the English Wikipedia by defined as a way to transfer the meaning using discourse analysis. This research from the source language to target and the researcher’s research remain the language is based on micro unit (word, same in using Wikipedia as an object. phrase or clause or in sentence), which However, there is a different approach influence the result of translation. between them, Woodrich used discourse Molina and Albir (2002) defined that analysis approach, while the researcher translation technique allow the people to uses translation approach. The next describe the actual steps which taken by related study was conducted by Aditya the translators in each textual micro-unit and Basari (2013), they analyzed the and obtain clear data about the general Ahmad Tahari’s novel “Ronggeng Dukuh methodological option chosen. Paruk” and the English version entitled Translation technique is the procedure to “The Dancer” to find the ideology of the analyze and classify the way of translator by identifying the dominance equivalence can happens. Translation translation technique by using Molina technique is called as the realization of and Albir theory. This research and the the decision, making process, where the researcher’s research are both using the product of translation can be identified same theory in order to find the on the translation result. There are 18 translation techniques used in English translation techniques which were stated Wikipedia. The third related study was by Molina and Albir (2002), such as: written by Sudana et all (2014), their adaptation, amplification (addition), purpose was to find how to translate the borrowing, calque, compensation, cultural terms and the procedure of the description, discursive creation, translation by using Newmark theory. established equivalence, generalization, The similarity of this research to the linguistic amplification, linguistic researcher’s research is both wanting to compression, literal translation, find how to translate the cultural terms. modulation, particularization, reduction, The last related study was written by 29 | P a g e Nasrum and Sari (2016), their purposes 4. Calque: a technique that translate of the research were to know the kinds the word or phrase from the SL of translation used in slang language and into TL which can be lexical or knowing the equivalence meaning structural system, and also can be between translated text and the original translated word-for-word in a SL text in the movie by using three theories, to TL. they are Newmark’s, Partidge’s, and 5. Compensation: a technique that Palmer’s theories. The similarity of this introduces SL element of research to the researcher’s research is information or stylistic effect in both of them want to know what kinds of another place in the TL because it translation used in the text. From the cannot reflected in the same previous studies, there are none of the place as in the SL. research which is interested in observing 6. Description: translation technique the translation technique in English- to replace a term or expression Wikipedia in translating cultural terms in with a description of its form Indonesian myth characters. or/and function. 7. Discursive Creation: a technique 2. Literature Review that replaces a term or expression The researcher analyzed the type of with a description of its form translation techniques which was used or/and